In Yu’s new school, all the students either have an ability, have the possibility of gaining an ability or is developing one. Some time ago, students like them were used in experiments for neuroscientists and if you’re caught, your life is over. So this current system was created to protect those with abilities. The student council of the school locates those with abilities who are on the loose before others get to them and protect them, or threaten them enough so they don’t use their abilities again. Tomori’s helping because she doesn’t want anyone else to end up like her brother who was also had an ability but this was before the new system was established and he was caught and ended up as a guinea pig.

Yu moves to the same class as Tomori. The student council here is determined by those with useful active abilities hence why Tomori, who is a first year, is the president.

With help from a ‘comrade’ who can locate and determine an ability user, they find another person with an ability and decide to locate them. The person’s ability is thoughtography, so they ask around the person’s school if there’s been anything strange going on involving photographs.

They track down someone who’s selling pictures of girls. He’s apparently doing this to get money for his sick parents, but Tomori manages to convince him to stop him from using his abilities with the threat of being caught and being experimented on.

Yu wonders about Tomori’s brother and so she decides to take Yu along to visit him. Her could vibrate air freely to make sounds, people found this out and Tomori and her brother were both forced to attend boarding school. Scientists there hoped that they could use her brother’s abilities to jam communications or interfere with airwaves. After a year of experimentation, her brother lost the will to do anything and didn’t even recognise her anymore. So she escaped.

They arrive at a hospital where her brother is who’s lost his mind and doesn’t respond to anything. Tomori mentions that there is only one person she trusts right now and that’s who moved her brother to this hospital and started this new system.

Thoughts

I think I’ll take back what I said last episode about this not being like other Key productions, after the end of this episode. I’m starting to see Jun Maeda’s standard tear jerking stories take shape and his usual sense of humour that we’re all too familiar with, though so far it’s not been that bad. It’s like what I say for Akame ga Kill chapters, no one’s died yet, that’s alright then. That’s unfortunately what it’s come to for these type of stories, but hey, even if it’s standard Jun Maeda work, it’s always enjoyable.

This one person she trusts is interesting. For one thing, after having been betrayed by everyone including her own mother, I wonder how this person managed to gain her trust to begin with enough to convince her that he/she is going to do what they say they’re going to do.

Obviously the bigger question is who this influential and, very likely, rich individual is. And I’m wondering if this is going to end up being a plot device for a much bigger emotional hit if this person betrays her as well. Now that would be a depressing route and not something I’d be able to handle. But I’ll deal with that if it ever happens.

I can’t but help notice the constant hinting at the stars in the night sky. I’m not sure if this is completely coincidental or on purpose, but I do feel that the subject of stars could have something to do with the story. Although it seems unlikely and more one of those ‘side’ things that the characters like to mention.

Another thing I was wondering about this episode was that, was the only reason Yu was invited to join Tomori was because his ability would be very useful in her mission? As the thoughtography user wasn’t invited and was just threatened. It would fit as thoughtography seems pretty useless in most circumstances.

I’m interested to meet others in the council, we only managed to get a glimpse of that other guy who came and went. Surely there are some others in the group with interesting abilities, there is definitely one more from the poster pictures. And more importantly, I’m sure everyone there will have a sob story to tell. So bring them on, I’ve been through Angel Beats, I’m sure I can handle this as well. Hopefully the worst of it will be before my new course starts, although that seems extremely unlikely considering my course starts in about 3 weeks time, oh well.